Another Day In Paradise
by Fandomtrash4567
Summary: YOU are Clarke Griffin. You’ve recently figured out your best friend slept with your ex, so what do you do? Create a rival bookstore in spite. In the chaos of the rivaly a friend is murdered and a group investigates. Sparks fly among the friends as some get closer than they should. Its a bellarke au and its not exactly paradise where you’re headed.
1. Chapter 1: Always say yes, kids

**Chapter One**

You slip your arm around his torso, snuggling into his chest. He twirls small strands of your hair. You glance up to his face. His lips formed a small smile, while his eyes stared back into yours. You placed your head on to his chest, embarrassed that you had been caught. He places his palm underneath your chin, directing you to look back at him. His palm rests on your cheek as he places a loose hair behind your ear.

"I'm so thankful to have you in my life." He sighs. His eyes search yours.

"I'm the one who's thankful." You tease. He kisses your nose with a smile.

"It's too late for that argument." He chuckles. You roll your eyes in response.

"It's never too late." You protest. You "Pout", trying to make him laugh.

But then you wake up.

You shiver, noticing the warmth of his body is no longer there. It hasn't been for a while now.

You pull the covers over your head, shielding your eyes from the rising sun. You stretch your body out on the mattress, making it seem like there is no room for another companion. But in reality, the only place where there is no room, is your heart.

You sigh as your alarm clock goes off. You'd rather stay in bed, keeping an eye on the golden door handle. This way, you can hope that he will change his mind and turn it, walking through the doorway, but it's been over a year. He's not really coming back. You know this. Yet, you still hope.

"You're going to be late!" Raven bangs on your door. You shove the covers off of your body, causing goosebumps to rise on your arms. You roll your eyes as she continues to bang on the door. You swing open the door, flashing her with your naked body. She screams. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

You laugh and let her inside. She walks in, and sits on your bed. You walk into the closet and shove a hoodie over your head. Correction, his hoodie.

"Why haven't you burned that yet?" She asks, pointing at the scarlet hoodie. You shrug, and slip on underwear. "You need to get over him, hun." She sighs.

You shake your head. This isn't the first time she's said this. "I know, Raven. Okay?" You yell. She shakes her head, keeping her thoughts to herself. You pull on a pair of jeans, and slip on sandals.

You both leave the apartment, heading towards the bookstore right below. We unlock the doors to the store and slip inside. The door chimes, announcing our arrival to the books lining the walls. It was a small store, but it was homely. You stand behind the counter, waiting for a customer. Sometimes it was hours before someone walked through the doors. Why you unlocked the store so early? Well, it wasn't your choice. It was Raven's. She was your partner in crime, also owner of the store. She gave you the job a while back, trying to help you get out of your funk. It didn't work. Not exactly.

The bell chimes, as a customer walks in. His hair is dark, and creates shadows across his face. He sweeps it back, revealing brown eyes. You sigh. It wasn't him. You watch as he caresses the bindings of the books. His eyes searched the shelves, full of wonder. You couldn't help but watch him. Raven tapped your shoulder, causing you to jump.

"He's pretty cute." She mused, shoving your shoulder. You roll your eyes, as you lean on the counter. You both watch as he leans against the shelf, opening up a book. He closes it, and begins to walk towards you. You stand up straight, causing Raven to stifle a laugh. He raises his eyebrows, confused.

He sets the book onto the counter, you're about the ring it up, when he grabs your hand. You stare at him in shock. You tear your hand away, along with the book. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't wanting to buy it just yet, I actually was gonna ask a question about it." He rambles.

You sigh, and hand him back the book. You glance at the cover, "The Lightning Thief? What about it?" you ask him. He chuckles.

"Do you recommend it?" He asks, glancing along your face. You nod.

"Yeah, it was one of my favorites when I was a teen." You recalled. He smiled, blinding you with his charm.

"Great. I'll take it then." He exclaims, handing you back the book. Your hands grazed as you took it back from him. Sizzles filled your stomach. You gulped, and rang up the book. He handed you a 20$ bill. You gave him the change back, and closed the register. He grabbed the book, and smiled at you. Your spine shook slightly.

"My sister should love this, then." He announced, before stepping out of the shop. Before letting the door close, he yelled towards you, "Have a nice day." You smiled and wished him one as well.

Raven approached you from the side, and leaned on the counter. "I don't think I've seen you smile since-" "Don't say his name." You interjected. She raised her hands, surrendering.

The rest of the day was dull. You continued to watch the doors, hoping either of them would enter. Who was that guy? You asked yourself. He was a complete stranger, and yet he affected you. But why? You shook your head, and walked towards the shelves. When the days got boring, you organized. Time seemed to speed by as you rearranged the books into different orders.

"Are you really going to sit there all day?" Raven asked, putting a hand onto her hip. You nodded in response. She grunted and sat down next to you.

"We should go out." She suggests. You shrug. It doesn't sound appetizing. She pouts her lips, pleading. You roll your eyes.

"Fine, but you pay."

"I always do." She mumbles. Your eyebrows scrunch together.

"What?" You ask, confused.

"Nothing. Let's just go get ready." She rushed.

"Now?" You asked. She rolls her eyes.

"No, next year. Yes, now." She sassed.

_**After getting ready**_

You stare into the mirror. You hands caressed your face, admiring Raven's work. Your face was lightly contoured, your lips a bright red. You didn't recognize yourself. Raven stood behind you, admiring her own her work.

"Damn, I should go into the business." She mused. You chuckled, and leaned down to grab your converse. She grabs your arm.

"Uh uh. Heels. Those converse will ruin the outfit." She explained, while setting bright red high heels into your arms. You rolled your eyes and slipped on the slick heels. You wobbled as you tried to stand. It had been a while since you've worn heels.

"Now we finally leave." She darts out the bedroom door, heading for the exit of the loft.

You sigh, "And now we leave."

_**Arriving at the night club**_

As you stared out the window, you imagined what it was like in the movies. They pull up to the club, and camera lights are flashing. Girls scream as you walk past the security guard. Too bad the movies make it out to be so much greater than it was. You slipped out of the car, landing your foot into a puddle.

"Just great. " You mumbled to yourself. No bright lights were flashing, well, except for the entrance sign. Bright red doesn't count. It doesn't beat camera flash. Three guys stumble out of the doors, holding each other a float.

Raven walks beside you, checking them out. "Hey, guy in the middle isn't too bad." She points out. You glance in his direction, and make eye contact. "ABORT. ABORT. ABORT." Rings out in your head. He continues to stare, but then he suddenly winks. You step back, almost tripping.

"Woah there. Don't pass out just yet. Besides. There are cuter guys in there anyways. He was maybe a 5." She joked, nudging your shoulder. You smirked, and continued walking towards the entrance.

Loud music fills your ears, it's something you've never heard before.

"I'm going to get us some drinks." Raven yells over the beat.

"What?" You yell back. She rolls her eyes and moves closer to your ear.

"I'm going to get us some drinks. Stay here." She yells, causing you to wince.

Every time you've gone to the club, you've only ever swayed in one spot. You were never the one to flirt with the bartender to get free drinks. You were always the one told to stay back. Usually you didn't care, but tonight? You felt off. You followed Raven up to the bar, slightly behind her.

You watched as she smiled brightly at someone. You weren't close enough to see them just yet. As you inched closer, you froze. It was him. You stood back and watched as he leaned in close to her, whispering something in her ear. She laughed and playfully hit his shoulder. Was this why she never wanted you to follow? To see her flirting with him? You clinched your fist, but smirked. You sashayed towards the bar, making eye contact with him. Raven turned, jaw agape.

"Hi. Can I have four shots of Green Apple Smirnoff?" You asked. He stared at you, but you ignored his glances. He wasn't going to have it that easy. You turned away from Raven, fists clinched.

"Clarke," She tried to coax, but you ignored her soothing voice.

"Four shots." He grumbled, setting them down in front of you. You slipped him the cash, and slung back the shots into your throat.

"Clarke, isn't that a little much?" Raven asked.

"Raven, isn't it a little much to flirt with my ex just to get free alcohol? No? Okay then." You sassed. She gasped in reply. You stumbled away from the bar, adrenaline rushing through your veins.

You shimmied into the center of the dance floor, and began to grind against a couple guys. You no longer cared to be the modest one in the background. You wanted to forget.

And forgetting is what you did. You woke up back in your room, head pounding. Raven walks in with a glass of water and says, "You were going pretty hardcore last night."

You take the glass, and sip the water. "I don't remember any of it. " You state, causing her to let out a loud sigh.

"You took four shots of vodka, and went and danced in the center of the floor. The guys were really enjoying it." She joked. Your mouth hung wide. You've never done that before.

"Do you know why I did that?" You asked. She shook her head.

"I have no idea, honestly. All I know is later on you got handed a lot of drinks from those guys, and I think one of them gave you something extra.."

"Oh...wow, I can't believe I did that... What'd you do while this was going on?" You asked.

"The bartender." She smirked, earning a high five from you.

"Now that's my girl." You yell, earning a laugh from her.

_**The next morning**_

"It feels like I've had this migraine for years." You complain, setting your head on to the counter. Raven pats your head.

"There. There. Now chin up, we have a customer." She mused. You roll your eyes, but you listen to her anyways.

You sip at your water, glancing towards the teen every now and then. "Do you guys have Harry Potter?" a soft voice piped up. You looked up from your glass.

"I believe we do." You smirked, watching the spunky girl. Her hair was bright red.

You stood, and made your way towards the 'Favorites' section. You were always going out of stock of the famous series, but luckily for the girl, you just had a new shipment in. Your hands traced the spines of the books. You sigh and say, "Here they are."

The girl smiles wide, and tries to hold all of the books into her arms. Somehow, maybe sheer will power, she manages not to drop them. She slams them on the counter, out of breath. "How much?" she asks.

You scan the books, marking them all roughly eight dollars. "That'll be $53.88, hon."

She shuffles through her pocket, glancing nervously back at you a couple times. She sets the cash on the table. A couple twenties, and a ten or two. Plus maybe a five. You couldn't tell. It was all too jumbled. "Sorry." she whispered. You gave a small smile, and untangled the bills.

"$34.68. I'm sorry, you're a little off."

She frowns. "I thought they were cheaper on the website."

"Well, let me check our website and with the owner to see if we can get them any cheaper, okay?" You assured. She nodded and glanced around. Her eyes darted towards the door, when someone walked through it.

"Octavia." He grunted, "I've been looking everywhere for you." His eyes darted towards the pile of books, causing his mouth to form an 'O'.

"Uhm, sorry to interrupt," You muttered, gaining both of their attention. "Are you still wanting the books? They're half off on the website."

The girl-Octavia-lit up like a firework. "That means I can get 'em, Bell!" She screeched, causing you to cover your ears.

He sighed, and rubbed his neck. "Well, I guess if you want them so badly. Did you already finish the book I gave you the other day?" he asked. She nodded, in response.

"Oh, you're the guy who came in yesterday. I knew I recognized you." You remembered. He nodded.

"Yeah, this one here," He chuckled while ruffling her hair, "seems to have found a love for reading."

Octavia rolled her eyes and shoved his hand off her head. "So have you seen the movies or read the books?" she asked you.

Always say yes, kids.

You shook your head. "I haven't read the books since I was a kid, nor have I seen the movies."

Her mouth fell agape, along with the man next to her. "You've never seen the movies?" He marveled. You nodded.

"Yeah...that's what I just said." You chuckled. He gulped and tugged at his collar.

"Right, yeah, sorry. Uh. So are you going to get the books or what, kid?" He asked her. She deadpanned and turned towards him.

"No, I'm going to use the money to win at a casino. Of course I'm going to buy the books." She sassed. You chuckled.

"Well, that'll be $26.94 then." You mused. You counted the cash, and handed her back the change. "Are you going to need any help with the books?" You ask.

She shrugs. "Nah. I have my brother Bellamy. He's strong for a guy that works in a desk job."

You glance over at him-Bellamy-making eye contact. He looks away, blushing. "Alright," You giggled, "Well, enjoy your reading."

She smiles and nudges Bellamy. He coughs, "Uh, thank you for helping my sister."

You give a small smile. "It was no problem, really." He smiled back and nodded.

They both walked out of the store, leaving you all to your lonesome.

**_Later that night_**

_"I don't deserve love." You cried on to your pillow. _

_You already forgot what it meant to eat or drink, for you had no appetite. _

_"It's okay." Raven cooed. She ran her fingers through your hair. You sniffled._

_"How could he do this?" You screeched, pounding your hand on the bed. You sobbed into the pillow. _

_"Oh, sweetie. You don't deserve this." She sighed. _

_"But he doesn't want you anymore. He wants me. Can't you see it?" _

_She smiled. _

_You frowned. You had no idea what she was speaking of. _

_"Of course. You don't remember. Just be sure to ask the bartender next time what his name was." She purred._

You woke up, drenched in sweat. It was a nightmare, you thought. You leaned back on to your pillows. The same ones from the nightmare. "It was just a dream." You whispered to yourself, quietly. Eventually it turned into mumbles and soon you were back asleep.

Sadly, what you didn't know, was what was going on in the room next door.


	2. Chapter two: Mountain Dew head

**_The next night_**

"Are you sure, you don't look like you're feeling too well, Clarke," Raven sighed.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to get some air. It feels like I've been cooped up in this building for days."

Raven nodded and slipped behind the register, prepping for any late night customers. They were rare, but they did occur.

"Just be safe!" She yelled, as you slipped out the door, jingling the car keys within your pocket.

As you slide behind the wheel of the car, you lean your head on to the dash. "What the hell am I doing?" You whisper. Yet you start the car engine anyways.

**_Arrival_**

After ten minutes of circling the parking lot, you finally parked and got out of the car. The red sign threatened to fall as you walked underneath into the building. Eyes followed your body as you made your way to the bar. "What is she wearing!" Girls spat amongst their friends. Guys chuckled and pointed.

You watched his slim frame as he poured the liquor into a girl's glass across the bar. As he turned, blue eyes ablaze, you sighed. Thankful it wasn't him. As you walked towards the exit, a girl yelled, "Try harder next time sweetly!"

As you turned to see who yelled, a frame on the wall caught your eye. Bartender of the month. Finn Collins. Your fists clenched around the scarlet hoodie.

_**Arriving back at the store**_

As you walk back up the stairs into the apartment, giggles ring out from Raven's room. Your eyes burn, forcing back the tears threatening to fall. You take a deep breath and force a smile.

You barge into the room and say, "Hey, Raven I was wondering if-oh."

"Clarke! Can you learn to knock!" Raven yells, covering her naked torso with a blanket.

Your eyes scan the man next to her. Light blonde hair, blue eyes. It wasn't Finn. You back out, mumbling apologies. As you shut the door, you hear his voice. You slam the door back open. Finn, the blonde, and Raven are all under the covers, naked.

Raven stares at your frame in shock, thinking she got away with her crimes. You run back towards your room, shoving all that you can manage into suitcases and small bags.

Your hair flies around your face as your frantically strip off the scarlet hoodie. You gather anything left of his-raven's locates in your room and you proceed to throw them out your window.

"Clarke!" Raven yells from the doorway, covered by her blanket. You don't turn or even acknowledge her comments as she tries to stop you from packing. As you finish up the last bag, you stop down the hall past Raven, and demand the blonde man help you load the bags into your car. He helps, but keeps a watchful eye on Finn as he does so.

"Where are you going to go?" Raven yells from the doorway of the bookstore.

"It shouldn't matter to you, should it?" You yell back. As you get into the car, you take one last look at Raven. Finn steps beside her and places his arm on her shoulder, she shrugs it off. You feel his deep dark eyes follow you down the road as you drive towards the only place you knew you could stay.

_**Harper and Emori's place**_

You pressed the doorbell three times now, it was late and the house was dark. As you turned to leave, two slim frames walked up the sidewalk.

"Clarke?" Emori whispered into the dark. You waved, but you weren't entirely sure they could see it. Suddenly an iPhone flash was piercing into your eyes, causing your to cringe.

"It is Clarke!" Harper chuckled.

"What are you doing here so late, girl?" Emori asked.

"It's a long story." You sighed, sitting on the porch step.

"We have time, but let's talk inside so we don't get eaten alive by the mosquitoes." Harper slid past you and unlocked the door.

"How long have you been waiting here anyways?" Emori smirked.

You rolled your eyes, "Long enough Rori."

Emori cringed at the highschool nickname, causing Harper to chuckle.

As you sat on the couch, the girls waited for you to begin your tale of your late night spectacle.

Roughly an hour later

"Not going to lie, I always knew she was a snake." Emori shrugged.

You rolled your eyes as Harper gasped.

"Is it okay if I stay here for a while?" You ask.

"How long is a while?" Emori asks, as Harper shoves her.

"Of course you can stay! We both work all day tomorrow, but how about tomorrow evening we go bowling like old times?" Harper smirkes.

Emori rolls her eyes, all knowing. You nod, watching the exchange between the two. Emori leaves, retrieving blankets and pillows.

"Here," she sets them on your lap. "You can sleep on the couch for tonight. We have an extra bedroom, but we need to get it cleaned up."

"We won't be around much tomorrow, but you're welcome to anything in the house." Harper smiles.

Eventually they went off to their separate rooms. As you laid there on the couch, you couldn't help but wonder what the fuck Raven was thinking. You looked down at your phone, 57 new messages, and 23 new voicemails. All from her. You turned off your phone, not bothering to read the messages.

_**The next day**_

"Clarke!" Emori continues to shove your shoulder. You groan in response.

"Have you been asleep all day?" Harper asks, sitting next to you on the couch. You sit up, picking out the eye gunk so you can actually see.

"I didn't really want to do anything else." You sigh, as you slump back under the covers. Emori rips them off of you.

"Uh uh. You go get into the shower. We will get your bags. We are going bowling like old times, remember?" She pinches your cheeks, squishing them together trying to make you smile. You give in.

After getting ready, Harper whistles. "This girl could turn me."

Emori rolls her eyes and says, "You watch Pitch Perfect too much."

You chuckle as everyone heads to your car. "Wait," you say. "Why my car?"

They sarcastically glance around while saying, "hmm?"

"Oh right," you say. "You guys don't have one."

Emori taps your head, while muttering, "Good job."

On the way to the bowling alley, you all sing "Waterloo" by ABBA at the top of your lungs along with many other greatest hits. Once you arrive, Emori continues to shove Harper.

"Are you going to do it?" Emori asks her.

"Do what?" You ask.

"If she does it, you'll see. If not, you'll see me bully her for being a pussy." Emori jokes.

Harper rolls her eyes in response.

As you all enter Get In Your Lane, a bowling alley run by college students, your eyes dart to a familiar mop of brown curls.

"One pair of 8 's, a pair of 8's, and one pair of 7 's, please." Emori asked the worker.

You peered over at Harper who had become beet red, avoiding eye contact with the worker. You looked closely at his name tag: Monty.

You all chose a lane and slipped on the dark green and maroon shoes. You lightly shoved Harper while snickering and said, "So that's why you wanted to come bowling."

She shoved you back, hard enough that you fell off the seat, cackling. Emori and Harper began to laugh with you, drawing the eyes of two boys. As you continued to laugh on the floor, Monty rushes over, helping you up.

"Are you alright?" He asked. It was his job, yanno.

Emori punched Harper in the shoulder and pointed. Harper spoke up, "Yeah, she's alright. Do you, uh, clock off soon Monty?"

Monty scratched the back of his head, "uh-"

"Yeah, he's actually clocking off now." Jasper commented, placing his hand on Monty's shoulder. Monty looked back and forth between Harper and his friend.

"Right, right, yeah." He mumbled.

"Carlo's shift just started anyways," he smirked. "Hey Bellamy!"

You turned your head towards where he was yelling, just in time to make eye contact with the guy himself. You watched as he slowly made his way towards the group, hands shoved in pockets, eyes to the floor.

"So are we going to bowl or what?" Emori snickers.

You all place your names into teams.

Team 1: Emroar, Jazz, Bell

Team 2: CC, Harp, Eeee

**And the games begin**.

"OH YOU GOTTA BE SHITTING ME!" Emori yells as her glittery pink bowling bowl shoots into the gutter.

A mother a couple rows down glares as she covers her child's ears. Emori rolls her eyes.

You grab the maroon ball you specifically picked just for this moment. You can feel his eyes on your back as your grip starts to loosen. You roll it down the lane and it's a

Gutter ball.

The girls look at you strangely, you haven't made a gutter ball since you were ten. Even then it wasn't your fault. You rub your hands along your jeans, avoiding eye contact with all of them.

As the game continues on, you loosen up, but you aren't winning like you usually do. You watch over your soda straw as Harper and Monty sneak their hand holding. You weren't the only one to notice.

"I give it a week before they make it official." He whispers into your ear. You chuckle.n

"More like three. Harper is a procrastinator when it comes to relationships." You respond. He nods and sips at his drink.

"OH FUCK YEAH," Jasper yells as he gets his first strike of the night, "Anyone want pizza? I'm starving."

We all chuckle but agree. We all sit at a table as we wait for the pizza to finish cooking. Bellamy whips out a deck of cards and says, "Who's ready to play bullshit."

_**After pizza **_

"We should all hang out again sometime." Monty chuckled, rinsing out his hair with a water bottle.

"Agreed." Harper smiled.

"Yeah, you would agree." Emori jokes, causing Harper to turn beet red.

You make eye contact with Bellamy, smiling, but feeling your face flush. You all get into your cars.

"I can't believe Jasper poured Mountain Dew on Monty's head for winning the game!" Harper exclaimed.

We all laughed at Monty's face forming into an 'O' and then suddenly tackling Jasper and tickling him into submission. Bellamy helped hold Jasper down, of course.

"Jasper is a ball of energy, I swear." You chuckle. Harper and Emori look back and forth.

"DO YOU LIKE HIM!" They both yell, together.

"NO!" You yell back. They sigh.

"Damn, we've been trying to set him up with someone for a while now." Emori leans back in the seat.

"Why don't you set him up with Maya?" You suggest.

Emori and Harper look at each other, smirking.

"Oh mayaaaaa." Harper sings.

_**Maya on Pine Street**_

"She still works downtown right?" You ask the girls.

"Why does it sound like she's a prostitute?" Emori chuckles.

"Well…." Harper sighs.

You and Emori both look at each other.

"WELL WHAT?" You both yell. She raises her hands, surrendering.

"She's not a prostitute, she's a stripper. There is a difference!" She squeaked.

Emori rolled her eyes. "Not much of one."

"Come on, Emori, it's not that bad. They don't touch her. She isn't naked. She's just dancing. What happened to her old job, further down pine street?" You asked Harper.

"Well," She said, leaning towards the front of the car. "The CEO of the company that she was under was embezzling money into offshore accounts down in the Bahamas. He got caught a couple months ago. Even the small, side business like the on Pine was shut down. She had to use her resources."

"Damn." Emori whistled.

You pulled up to Will's. "How do we proceed this?" You asked.

"Well, we didn't really think about that." Emori sighed, smacked her hand on to her forehead.

"Should..should we just go in?" Harper suggests.

You all look at each other, shrugging. As you walk in, all eyes meet yours. It's then that you all realize you are the only girl customers. Harper turned around about to walk out, but Emori grabbed her, and forced her to walk forward.

You all sat in a booth, waiting until Maya came out.

"So do we just be like btw we think you'd be great with Jasper and then just leave?" Emori asked, running a hand through her dark brown locks.

"Just, let me handle it, alright?" Harper sighed. Maya came around the corner of the booth, about to ask if you needed anything, until she realized who you all were. Her eyes lit up, and she slid into the seat beside you.

"What are you weirdos doing here?" She asked, chuckling.

"Here for the scenery." Emori snickered, you smacked her on the arm.

Harper piped up,"Well, we hung out with a certain boy today. Pleaseeeee just get with him."

Maya giggles, "I don't think he's interested."

Your mouth gapes open,"Maya, have you seen your body? Also, if he didn't we could easily get away with the murder."

You all laugh out loud, warning glances from the male customers. Maya gets up slowly, wiping the laughter tears from her eyes.

"Maybe I'll give him a ring." She winks.

"Hey wait! We are all hanging as a group sometime soon. Talk with him then." Harper suggests. Maya smiles and waves.

You all watch her get back to work then you make your exit. As you all return to the car, Emori runs into someone, literally.

He was taller than her, a dark blond, hazel eyes. Attractive,

"Do you usually run into people or are you just blind?" He chided.

But not really.

Emori clenches her fists. "Are you usually a dick or were you just born that way?" She spat.

He rolled his eyes and continued walking. Emori stomped to the car, muttering about how much of a twat he was.

As you drove back towards the house, you pass the building for sale. It was old, but seems homely.

Back at the house

Laying on the couch, your mind wanders back to the for sale sign hanging in the window of the office building on Pine street.

You no longer had a job at the bookstore, but you loved that place. How it made you feel. Eventually you doze off, imagining books towering above you in the small office. You turned, seeing his face. "Bellamy," you whisper

You wake up, mind made up about buying the building. You have money saved, but you don't want to go into this alone.

While still in your pj's, you grab your keys and drive to the nearest gas station. As you park, you whisper to yourself, "If I win more than 20$ on a single ticket, I'll ask him to partner."

You wipe your hands on your jeans as you make your way into the gas station. You purchase five. You sit back inside your car. Using your car keys, you scratch off the numbers.

First card: $10

Second card: $0

Third card: $2

Fourth card: $5

Fifth card: $0

"Okay," you whisper. You go back inside and buy one more. As you scratch off each number, you eyes begin to widen.

Sixth card: $100

With this luck, you run back inside, buying a lottery ticket. You stuff it inside your phone case. You get the cash you won from the scratchers and head back to your car. You lean back against the seat, realizing now you have to figure out how to ask Bellamy to run a bookstore with you.


End file.
